ERC sees its strategy in danger due to the lack of gestures by Pedro Sánchez

The Republican Gabriel Rufián passes in front of the Government bench, in the last plenary session of Congress. Luis Sevillano

Gabriel Rufián, the strong man of the ERC in Madrid, repeats a phrase that he believes sums up his party's mission in Congress: “The PSOE doesn't do anything.

The PSOE is forced to do”.

However, the course of the legislature has shown that these key ERC votes can end up lost in the tangle of variable geometry practiced by Pedro Sánchez, and that it is increasingly difficult to force certain things.

Some voices among the Republicans are concerned about the cooling of relations, despite the fact that contacts at the highest level continue to work.

With ERC putting all the meat on the grill at the dialogue table, the lack of a gesture beyond good words on the part of Sánchez erodes his strategy at a delicate moment in Catalan politics and with the municipal elections already in The horizon.

Some ERC leaders share a certain feeling that in La Moncloa "they go beyond" them and the commitments made.

In addition, they regret that they are not aware of the message that is transmitted to Catalan society, for example, by leaving the dialogue table in the fridge.

The happy speech with which Pere Aragonès defended that they had "made the Government sit down" to negotiate a political solution is increasingly lame.

The last few months have not been easy for the Republicans and the letter of valuing the recovery of the presidency of the Generalitat after more than 80 years is beginning to lose its soothing power.

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Pedro Sánchez faces another week under parliamentary fire

Despite the good balance that the Catalan Executive makes of these 365 days of Government (it considers a third part executed), the lack of a stable majority in Parliament (the CUP has distanced itself) and the unknown of what will happen with the new leadership bicéfala of Junts per Catalunya generate an uncertain scenario.

There is no control session with the Government in which the partners do not attack Pere Aragonès for the insignificant results of the dialogue table or criticize the ERC's support for the PSOE for "nothing in exchange".

Last Saturday, at the Junts congress,

Carlos Puigdemont, a fugitive in Brussels, was very harsh with his partners, whom he accused of only seeking "the well-being of their cadres", defending the "normality" discourse in Catalonia .

Aragonès and his people carried the incessant criticism to the dialogue table without any problem, which Junts has used as a scourge against the Republicans almost from minute one.

Ultimately, they were useful for showing differences.

But one thing is to criticize the results and another the non-existence of the table.

If it was already difficult to reconcile the demands of the independence supporters (amnesty for the convicted and a referendum on self-determination) and the Agenda for the Reunion of Pedro Sánchez, the dilation in time of the new meeting of the table has ended up giving Junts air.

"That is not dialogue, it is systematic, continuous and permanent humiliation," his former

, Jordi Sànchez, also said at the congress of that formation.

The shock over the ERC's refusal to support the labor reform generated concern in Madrid.

Then, in the process of the Audiovisual Law in which ERC forced some improvements, a certain retraining of relations was seen.

But the norm finally went ahead, last May, with the PP, due to the refusal of the Republicans to accept the definition of independent producer.

And the scandal of the Pegasus case (the alleged espionage of 65 people linked to the independence movement) has ended up destroying confidence.

The announced meeting between the two presidents, Sánchez and Aragonès, does not yet have a date on the calendar.

To make matters worse, last week ended with the news about the very low execution of the State's investment in Catalonia: only 35.7% of what was consigned in the General Budgets of 2021, compared to 84% received by Madrid.

ERC insists, in this, as in the rest of the clashes with the PSOE, that the commitments have to be fulfilled.

But there is no sign of an ultimatum to the Government.

A weighty voice in Junts asks: “Black on white, what has ERC achieved in these months?

Any".

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